Enclosure for a blender

ABSTRACT

An enclosure for a blender includes a body portion and a cover. The cover is hingedly attached to the body portion. The body portion of the enclosure includes a metallic foot that mates with the base member of the blender. The base member may include at least one magnet that secures the foot, and therefore body portion, in position by the magnetic force acting upon the foot. A gasket is provided between the foot of the body portion and the base member to completely isolate the enclosure from the base member, and to reduce vibrations in the enclosure during operation of the blender. The body portion of the enclosure may also include gasket strips to seal the enclosure when the cover is closed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.61/135,480 filed Jul. 21, 2008, which is incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an enclosure such as those which house a foodprocessor to deaden the noise emanating therefrom. More particularly,this invention relates to such an enclosure having a main bodypositioned on the base of a food processor, with a gasket positionedbetween the main body and the base to isolate vibrations and reducenoise.

BACKGROUND ART

Enclosures for electric food processors, or blenders, are well known inthe art. One such enclosure is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. Des.427,016. These types of enclosures are utilized to house a conventionalelectric blender so that when the blender is in operation, the noiseemanating therefrom will be muffled. This noise suppression function isparticularly desirable when the blender is being operated in acommercial environment, such as a restaurant or cocktail lounge, so thatthe customers are not distracted or bothered by the sound of the blenderthat is processing a beverage.

Blenders include a base and a container, the base having controls and amotor, and the container being adapted to contain ingredients to bemixed. A rotating blade is provided at the bottom of the container andblends ingredients within the container when activated by the motor. Theblender may also include an enclosure, as discussed above. Most typicalenclosures are formed of two components, that is, a main body and acover. Usually the cover is hingedly attached to the main body, and themain body is attached to the base of the blender by a plurality offasteners. As such, when the container of the blender is positioned onthe base, it may be accessed by pivoting the cover relative to the mainbody.

Because it is associated with food products, the enclosure must befrequently cleaned. To do so, some enclosures, such as that shown inU.S. Pat. No. 6,019,238, allow the cover to be totally removed from themain body by means of an easy disconnection of the hinge. However, themain body still needs to be disconnected from the blender base whichnormally requires the manual manipulation of several fasteners which notonly is time consuming, but which also, after frequent manipulations,causes wearing of the parts such that a sturdy connection can no longerbe maintained. In addition, the direct connection between the main bodyof the enclosure and the base of the blender acts to transfer vibrationsemanating from the base to the enclosure, compounding the noisegenerated by the blender when in operation. Regardless of the type ofconnection used between the main body of the enclosure and the base ofthe blender, vibrations are transferred at any point of direct contact.

Thus, the need exists for a blender having an enclosure which can easilyand quickly be disassembled while providing improved noise reductioncapabilities.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of one aspect of the present invention to providean enclosure for a food processor which is capable of deadening thenoise resulting from the blending of ingredients within a container.

It is an object of another aspect of the present invention to provide anenclosure, as above, that isolates the vibrations of the motor withinthe base of the food processor from the enclosure positioned thereon.

It is an object of another aspect of the present invention to provide anenclosure, as above, which is secured to the base without the use ofmechanical fasteners.

These and other objects of the present invention, as well as theadvantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will becomeapparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by theimprovements hereinafter described and claimed.

In general, an enclosure for a food processor having a base includesbody portion, a cover pivotally attached to the body portion, and a footcarried by the body portion. A gasket is provided between the topsurface of the base and the foot of the enclosure. The gasket isolatesthe enclosure from the base to prevent the transfer of vibrationstherebetween.

The combination of an enclosure and the base of a food processor isprovided in accordance another aspect of the present invention. The basehas a top surface and the enclosure includes a body portion, a coverpivotally attached to the body portion, and a plate carried by the bodyportion. A gasket is provided between the top surface of the base andthe foot. The gasket isolates the enclosure from the base to prevent thetransfer of vibrations therebetween. No mechanical fasteners areprovided to secure the enclosure to said base.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, anenclosure for a food processor having a base is provided. The base has atop surface and the enclosure includes a foot. A gasket is also providedand is positioned between the top surface of the base and the foot. Thegasket isolates the enclosure from the base to prevent the transfer ofvibrations therebetween. No mechanical fasteners are provided to securethe enclosure to said base.

A preferred exemplary enclosure for a food processor according to theconcepts of the present invention is shown by way of example in theaccompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various formsand modifications in which the invention might be embodied, theinvention being measured by the appended claims and not by the detailsof the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an enclosure for a food processor madein accordance with the concepts of the present.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the enclosure of FIG. 1 with the coverin an open position.

FIG. 3 is an exploded side elevational view of the enclosure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged top view of a gasket made in accordance with theconcepts of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the gasket shown in FIG. 4.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An enclosure for a food processor made in accordance with the presentinvention is indicated generally by the numeral 10. A base member of afood processor, generally indicated by the numeral 12, houses a motor.Enclosure 10 includes a cover 16 and a body portion 18 and is designedto be positioned over base member 12. The container (not shown) of theblender is positioned on the base member 12 and housed within enclosure10 so that when the blender is in use, the noise generated by theoperation of the blender is muffled. Cover 16 and body portion 18 arepreferably made of a clear thermoplastic material, such as polycarbonateor polyester, so that the container of the blender positioned on basemember 12 can be viewed.

Base member 12 often includes a control panel 20 on one of its surfaceswhere the blender can be turned on and off, and the speed of rotation ofthe motor can be adjusted. An opening (not shown) may also be providedin base member 12 so that an electric cord can pass from within toprovide power to the motor housed within base member 12. Base member 12also includes a raised pedestal 22 on a top surface thereof which isadapted to be received in the base of the container. Pedestal 22 mayoptionally include a number of projections 24 which prevent thecontainer from rotating when the motor within base member 12 isactuated. In addition, pedestal 22 also includes a coupler having asplined end 26, the coupler being attached to the rotating motor shaft,as is well known in the art. The shaft of the blade of the blendercontainer is also splined and engages splined end 26 of the coupler.Rotation of the motor shaft caused by the actuation of the motor isthereby transferred to the blades rotatably positioned within thecontainer.

As best shown in FIG. 1, body portion 18 of enclosure 10 includesopposed side walls 34 spanned by a rear wall 36 and an abbreviated topwall (not shown). Body portion 18 has an open front area opposed to rearwall 36, which front area is closed by cover 16 to form enclosure 10.Cover 16 of enclosure 10 is pivotally secured to body portion 18 suchthat it can be moved from a closed position to an open position,allowing access to the interior of enclosure 10. Cover 16 may bepivotally connected to body portion 18 by any method known in the art,such as, for example, a pair of sockets 28 on body portion 18 and a pairof corresponding apertures 30 in cover 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.Cover 16 is thus pivotable with respect to body portion 18 on an axisdefined by sockets 28, and a handle 32 may be provided to convenientlyassist in the opening and closing of enclosure 10. Body portion 18 mayinclude gasket strips 40 on sidewalls 34 and the top wall to sealenclosure 10. Thus gasket strips 40 may be positioned at variouspositions on the outer surfaces of body portion 18 so that when cover 16is closed, enclosure 10 is sealed and noise emanating therefrom duringoperation of the blender is reduced.

Body portion 18 also includes a foot 41 at the bottom of rear wall 36and sidewalls 34. Foot 41 is made of a metallic material and isgenerally rectangular in shape, although it may optionally take anydesired shape. Foot 41 is provided with an opening 43, rectangular innature, and having an inner periphery that is larger than the outerperiphery of pedestal 22 so that pedestal 22 protrudes upwardly throughthe opening 43 in foot 41 when body portion 18 is positioned on basemember 12. At least one magnet 39 may be provided within base member 12to impart a magnetic force on metal foot 41. In one embodiment of theinvention, four magnets 39 are provided, one at each of the corners ofbase member 12 adjacent to its top surface (FIG. 3). The magnetic forceprovided by the magnets within base member 12 secures body portion 18 ofenclosure 10 to base member 12 without the use of mechanical fasteners.While a particular method of securing enclosure 13 to base 12 isdescribed and shown herein, it is also contemplated that other means maybe employed to secure enclosure 10 to base 12 without the use ofmechanical fasteners. Thus, any method or mechanism known in the art,other than mechanical fasteners, may be utilized to secure enclosure 10to base 12 without deviating from the scope of the invention. In onealternative embodiment, foot 41 is provided with sufficient weight sothat no other mechanism is required to secure enclosure 10 to base 12.

A gasket 42, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, is provided between foot 41 andbase member 12. Gasket 42 mirrors the shape of foot 41 and, in theembodiment shown in the drawings, is rectangular in shape, and has anopening 45 therein. Gasket 42 rests on base member 12 around pedestal 22without the use of any type of fasteners or adhesive. If magnets 39 areprovided, their force acting upon foot 41 serves to secure gasket 42 inthe desired location. Gasket 42 may include an upwardly extending flange44 around its inner periphery. Flange 44 is adjacent to pedestal 22 andseparates foot 41 from pedestal. Gasket 42 may be made of any materialcapable of absorbing and dampening vibrations created by the motorwithin base member 12. In one embodiment, gasket 42 may be made of aviscoelastic material, such as, for example, amorphous polymers, semicrystalline polymers, biopolymers, and bitumen materials. Thus,enclosure 10 is completely separated from base member 12 by a vibrationdampening gasket 42, thereby significantly reducing the vibrations thatare transferred from base member 12 to enclosure 13. By reducing thevibrations of enclosure 10 during operation of the food processor, thesound emitted is also significantly reduced.

It is thus evident that an enclosure for a food processor constructed asdescribed herein accomplishes the objects of the present invention andotherwise substantially improves the art.

What it claimed is:
 1. An enclosure for use with a blender that includesa base, the enclosure comprising a body portion, a cover pivotallyattached to said body, said cover and said body together having a bottomedge profile that defines a footprint of the enclosure, said footprinthaving a plurality of sides, a foot carried by said body portion andextending outwardly therefrom, said foot having a like plurality ofsides, each side of said foot being positioned adjacent to a side ofsaid footprint of the enclosure, and a gasket positioned between the topsurface of the base and below said foot, wherein said gasket isolatesthe enclosure from the base to prevent the transfer of vibrationstherebetween.
 2. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein the base includes apedestal projecting upwardly from the top surface, said foot includingan opening sized to allow the pedestal to extend therethrough.
 3. Theenclosure of claim 2, wherein said gasket includes an openingtherethrough sized and shaped to allow the pedestal to extend upwardlytherethrough.
 4. The enclosure of claim 3, wherein said gasket includesan upwardly extending flange around said opening, said flange positionedbetween the pedestal and said foot.
 5. The enclosure of claim 1, whereinsaid gasket is made of a viscoelastic material.
 6. The enclosure ofclaim 1, further comprising gasket strips positioned on said bodyportion, said gasket strips being adapted to create a seal between saidbody portion and said cover when said cover is in a closed position. 7.The enclosure of claim 1, further comprising a magnet within the base,wherein said foot of said enclosure is made of metal, said foot beingsecured to said base by the magnet.
 8. In combination, an enclosure anda base of a food processor, the base having a top surface, saidenclosure including a body portion, a cover pivotally attached to saidbody portion, a foot carried by said body portion and extendingoutwardly therefrom, said foot defining an inner opening adapted to fitaround a pedestal projecting upwardly from said top surface of saidbase, said foot extending around the entire periphery of said pedestal;and a gasket positioned between said top surface of said base and belowsaid foot, wherein said gasket isolates said enclosure from said base toprevent the transfer of vibrations therebetween, and wherein nomechanical fasteners are provided to secure said enclosure to said base.9. The combination of claim 8, wherein said gasket includes an openingtherethrough sized and shaped to allow said pedestal to extend upwardlytherethrough.
 10. The combination of claim 9, wherein said gasketincludes an upwardly extending flange around said opening, said flangepositioned between said pedestal and said foot.
 11. The combination ofclaim 8, wherein said gasket is made of a viscoelastic material.
 12. Thecombination of claim 8, further comprising gasket strips positioned onsaid body portion of said enclosure, said gasket strips being adapted tocreate a seal between said body portion and said cover when said coveris in a closed position.
 13. An enclosure for use with a blender thatincludes a base with a top surface, the enclosure comprising a body, acover pivotally connected to said body, said cover and said bodytogether having a bottom edge profile that defines a footprint of theenclosure, said footprint having a plurality of sides, a foot extendingoutwardly from a bottom edge of said body and having a generally planarbottom surface, said foot having a like plurality of sides, each side ofsaid foot being positioned adjacent to a side of said footprint of theenclosure, and a generally planar gasket positioned between the topsurface of the base and below said bottom surface of said foot, whereinsaid gasket isolates the enclosure from said base to prevent thetransfer of vibrations therebetween, and wherein no mechanical fastenersare provide to secure said enclosure to said base.
 14. The enclosure ofclaim 13, wherein the base includes a pedestal projecting upwardly fromthe top surface, and said foot includes an opening sized to allow thepedestal to extend therethrough.
 15. The enclosure of claim 14, whereinsaid gasket includes an opening therethrough sized and shaped to allowthe pedestal to extend upwardly therethrough.
 16. The enclosure of claim15, wherein said gasket includes an upwardly extending flange aroundsaid opening, said flange positioned between the pedestal and said foot.